Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Out With the Old by Megan

I bought my family a wonderful present early in December--a new writing sweater for me.

What? Yep, my sweater is really a present for them. Maybe I should explain.

I have an ancient sweater I love, Love, LOVE. The debate in my family is "just how old is that thing?" We all agree it predates the children. I'll admit to that.

My darling husband claims it came with me when we married, which I'm not too sure about. Unfortunately, I have no recollection of when I bought it. That's how old it is.

My dear daughter teases me about my wearing the poor, formerly-cream-colored sweater in high school. THAT one I can refute with surety. (I didn't have any money in high school for a luxury like my nice, thick cardigan.)

That sweater has needed replacing for years, but...did you read the part about me loving it? The buttons are long gone. The button replacements are long gone. The pocket has been darned--okay, I only had red yarn on hand at the time, but who would know except me? The cuffs are attached by one thin, frayed strand, and the hole in the sleeve was well-earned as I played with story ideas.

We have a history, that sweater and I. Several books written, two children, and lots of years of late night reading.

This year I found a replacement. It's brown, but it's warm, has all its buttons, the pockets are in one piece, and there are no holes. (Well, nobody's perfect.)

To be continued...many, many happy years from now.

Your turn to confess. Is there something you need to replace that just breaks your heart to part with? Do you have a deep attachment to some object? Is there something that's so "just-right" that nothing else measures up to it?

12 comments:

I have a ten year old wardrobe that I parted with some of the rattier/sluttier clothes this last month. They were fun when I was single and dating. Of course you see I said SOME of the clothes. I'm still hoping to lose some of this weight....

My daughters cringe when I break out my flannel shirts and work coats I wear at my parent's farm. They are complete comfort clothes to me, like a cotton hug. And they never wear out...fray and fade, yes, but they'll still be in one piece when I'm 80. Maybe they'll be vintage by then! ;)

Megan,I have an old sweater I wore in high school and my prom dress wrapped in plastic (I kid you not). They should have been thrown out long ago, but I just love the memories when I clean my closet and look at them. They're the only thing I saved from that era of my life. They really need to go. I'm glad someone is as eccentric as me.

I have an old volleyball long-sleeved T-shirt that was at one time my uniform top. I can't part with it because it brings back those glory days. Still wear it too when I need the added warmth. Out of everything I own, that's about the only thing left from my high school years.

If you really want to eternalize it, write a story where this old sweater carries a lot of sentiment for the heroine...then get harlequin to agree to have the cover model wear your actual sweater! Then, one day, it could get auctioned off as famous author memoribilia...You never know!

Wow, I had no idea! So glad to know I'm not alone.Gillian--I love the phrase "cotton hug!" That's dead-on.Clothes that evoke memories should be kept. A friend took pix of her daughters' baby dresses so she could remember them, then she gave the dresses away. I doubt anyone would want a pic of this sweater, though, Shelley.

For years I had a bright pink (OK, it was bright at one time) zodiac sweatshirt. I had this thing for most of our marriage. White bleach stains. Frayed cuffs and neck. Marker from one of the kids. Big Leo lion on the front and a slogan that read, 'I'm Leo, I'm bossy.' It was so comfy that when I didn't feel well or was irritable, that's the first thing I grabbed. My husband would come through the door, takes one look at the sweatshirt and retreat to the security of the garage. It finally disintegrated. Boy do I miss that sweatshirt.

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